2 missing, 4 badly burned in Gulf fire

GOP congressman's ex-wife had 2 abortions

Odd News

UTAH CITY SETTLES WITH MAN WHO FLIPPED OFF OFFICER: OREM, Utah (AP) - A man who was pulled over and cited after flipping off a Utah police officer in 2010 has agreed to drop his complaint after the city of Orem agreed to pay him $2,500 in damages and promised not to ticket anyone else for the obscene gesture.

Ohio drug defendant asks judge for 1 more joint

CINCINNATI (AP) - A judge's offer to allow an Ohio drug defendant the chance to stay out of prison if he'd give up marijuana might have just gone up in smoke. Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Melba Marsh says she was astonished by the response from 19-year-old Damaine Mitchell on Wednesday. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Thursday that Mitchell ...

Questions on sex scandal: Top officials testify

Abandoned boy meets fireman who saved him

Army suicides for 2012 surpass last year's numbers

4 dead, 17 hurt when train hits vets parade

With pot legal in states of Washington & Colorado, police worry about road safety

DENVER (AP) - It's settled. Pot, at least certain amounts of it, will soon be legal under state laws in Washington and Colorado. Now, officials in both states are trying to figure out how to keep stoned drivers off the road.

Pot ballot wins raise specter of weed tourism

DENVER (AP) - Hit the slopes - and then a bong? Marijuana legalization votes this week in Colorado and Washington state don't just set up an epic state-federal showdown on drug law for residents. The measures also open the door for marijuana tourism. Both marijuana measures make marijuana possession in small amounts OK for all adults over 21 - not just state residents but visitors, too. Tourists may not be able to pack their bowls ...

A single spiteful email unlocks a Pandora’s box

WASHINGTON (AP) - It started in May with a spiteful email to the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan. An anonymous writer warned Gen. John Allen that a friend with whom he was meeting in Washington the following week was trouble and he should stay away from her.

Border Patrol under scrutiny for deadly force

Odd News

LOOSE GORILLA ALERT? ELECTRONIC ROAD SIGN HACKED: LOOMIS, Calif. (AP) - A prankster is changing the message on an electronic traffic warning sign. The sign is supposed to tell people that a road in the Placer County city of Loomis will be closed for pipeline construction.

House GOP picks woman for a top leadership post

WASHINGTON (AP) - Stinging from double-digit election losses among female voters, House Republicans elected a woman to their top leadership team Wednesday in a tense test of gender politics and the clout of the GOP's power brokers.

Pelosi running again for House leader post

Man shot to death while questioned in Boston probe

Damage: Thousands of homes, $1.5-$2B

50 hurt when Indiana school buses crash

Side Briefs

NEARLY ALL US STATES SEE HEFTY DROP IN TEEN BIRTHS: NEW YORK (AP) - The nation's record-low teen birth rate stems from robust declines in nearly every state, but most dramatically in several Mountain States and among Hispanics, according to a new government report.

Broke no laws, IRS official says, then takes 5th

Tornado death toll lowered to 24

Gay Fla. teen charged for her underage girlfriend

Pentagon wants $450M for Guantanamo

Texas judge: Lesbian couple can't cohabitate

Nation news briefs

POLICE DEFEND OFFICER WHO SHOT NY COLLEGE STUDENT: MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) - The president of a New York police union defended an officer who accidentally killed a Hofstra University student during a standoff with an armed intruder, saying Tuesday the only person responsible for the woman's death was the gunman who held her hostage.

IRS official to take the 5th at House hearing

Huge tornado hits Oklahoma City suburb, kills 51

MOORE, Okla. (AP) - A monstrous tornado at least a half-mile wide roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds up to 200 mph. At least 51 people were killed, and officials said the death toll was expected to rise.

Side Briefs

ANGRY MOB PELTS MAN THOUGHT TO BE SEX ATTACKER: DENVER (AP) - Residents angry that police had not warned them about sex assaults of children took matters into their own hands, chasing down a man they thought was the attacker, pelting him with rocks and leaving him with a bloody face in Colorado, authorities said Monday.

Volcano's ash prompts flight cancellations

Kentucky teen dies with dog lead on neck

Kentucky teen dies with dog lead on neck